PÂTÉ À CHOUX

• Break one egg into a small bowl, beat lightly with a fork and set aside.
• In a heavy 2-quart saucepan, bring 1 ½ cups of water, 12 tablespoons of butter bits, 1 tablespoon of sugar and ¼ teaspoon of salt to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally.
• As soon as the butter has completely melted, pour in the 1 ½ cups of flour all at once, remove the pan from the heat, and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon for 2 or 3 minutes until the paste moves freely with the spoon and pulls away from the bottom and sides of the pan in a mass.
• Use the spoon to make a well in the centre of the paste.
• Break an egg into the well and beat it into the paste.
• When this egg has been completely absorbed, add the 4 remaining eggs, one at a time- beating well after each egg is added.
• The finished paste should be smooth, shiny, and just thick enough to fall slowly from the spoon in a thick strand when it is lifted out of the pan.
• To achieve this consistency, add as much of the reserved beaten egg as necessary, beating it in by the tablespoonful. (The paste, covered with plastic wrap, may be safely kept at room temperature for several hours before baking if you like.)
• When you are ready to bake the pâte a choux, preheat the oven to 425°.
• Brush a large baking sheet with the tablespoon of softened butter.
• Sprinkle 2 tablespoon of flour over the sheet, invert and rap the sheet sharply to remove the excess flour.
• Spoon the pâte a choux into a pastry bag fitted with a ½-inch plain tip and pipe the paste onto the buttered baking sheet into puffs about 1 ½ inches in diameter and 1 inch high, spacing them approximately 2 inches apart. (There should be about 15.)
• Place the baking sheets side by side on the middle shelf of the oven if it is wide enough to accommodate them.
• Bake at 425° for 8 minutes, reduce the heat to 350° and continue baking for 13 to 20 minutes longer, or until the crust base is golden brown and the ring and puffs are firm and dry to the touch.
• Turn off the oven and let the pastry rest for 15 minutes to allow it to become dry and crisp.
• With a wide metal spatula, carefully slide the individual puffs onto wire cake racks to cool to room temperature.